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The Flash, Season 1: TV Review

So, usually it’s movie reviews and book reviews of random things that I’m reading/watching and like.

But this recent favorite is a TV show. And I’m reviewing season 1 because it was good and that’s what we’ve finished.

So, sit back and enjoy the writefury review of… THE FLASH.

The Flash: Season 1

TV Review

Synopsis:

Barry Allen is a Central City police forensic scientist with a reasonably happy life, despite the childhood trauma of a mysterious man in red and yellow lightning killing his mother and framing his father. All that changes when a massive particle accelerator accident leads to Barry being struck by lightning in his lab. Coming out of coma nine months later, Barry and his new friends at S.T.A.R labs find that he now has the ability to move at superhuman speed. Furthermore, Barry learns that he is but one of many affected by that event, most of whom are using their powers for evil. Determined to make a difference, Barry dedicates his life to fighting such threats, as The Flash. While he gains allies he never expected, there are also secret forces determined to aid and manipulate him for their own agenda.

~ from IMDB

Good Stuff:

Characters

Something I was a bit torn on at the beginning of the season, but of course you’ve got to give it a bit of time. And of course I had to write something up on this front with how important characters are to me.

Barry honestly gets more development near the end and in season two. But he was still a great main character. Definitely not the suave, cool superhero. But the dorkiness was fun to watch, so I’m not complaining. XD

Cisco is hilarious and has the main percentage of the awesome lines. They did an amazing job with the character mask for him and showing depth so he wasn’t just the perky inventor dude who spouts random movie lines. (Also the general favorite among my siblings)

look me in the eyes and tell me you didn’t smile at that

Caitlyn was kind of in the background a lot, by definition of her character, but they did an awesome job with her character arc on the firestorm plotline. Plus she kind of reminded me of my character, Jean, a bit . . . so that was fun to spot moments of.

Dr. Wells . . . okay, minor, minor spoilers here. You find out this guy’s bad within the first episode so I’m not going to dance around the fact. But going from that point, he’s one of the most well made villains I’ve ever seen. Being bad isn’t his defining characteristic. He’s a genius and that works both ways, both for and against Team Flash. (Lots more I could go into, but not without spoilers. XD He was probably the best done in my opinion, though.)

Minor characters were pretty good too. I was very much not a fan of Iris, though I liked Eddie and Joe. Not great development on most of the other metahumans or villains, but Captain Cold is pretty awesome.

Anyway, on to the next point.

Explanation

Okay, I’m not a huge science person. Just enough of a science person to write sci-fi and to like it when things are explained somewhat in the genre. Saying how things work.

Not just the typical “it’s a time machine/flame gun and it just does what it does, okay. deal with it.”

That was part of the thing that I thought was so cool about this show was how they’d actually let the audience in on the thought process behind figuring out the metahumans and defeating them. Even if it’s fictional, un-solid science, I still like hearing it. It makes my brain happy.

Plot

I haven’t really watched a lot of TV shows, but the plot structure fascinates me. I need to do some sort of chart to get it straight in my mind.

Anyway. Flash did a really good job balancing different standalone episode plots and still having the undercurrent of a longer-lasting plot that stretches across the whole season.

Of course, near the end, it pretty much all focuses on the big plot. And then there’s cliffhangers galore because they always seem to reveal some big thing rIGHT AT THE END OF THE EPISODE.

But look who’s talking about bad cliffhangers. I’ll shut up now.

Themes

One thing that I thought was kind of cool, though it’s easy to miss, is the way each of the episodes carried a sort of message/theme to it. Pretty much every episode starts out with Barry monologing about some sort of fact of life or observation he’s made, and that’s kind of the key to spotting the theme throughout.

And with the multiple plotlines they’re carrying, there are different demonstrations as well.

Bad Stuff:

Political inserts

There wasn’t as much political agenda stuff as I thought there’d be, thankfully. Just the whole ‘new, modern definition of family’ with divorces and living with boyfriends and all that blech.

Also one minor, gay character who was pretty much just there to be gay and to mention his fiancé and added nothing to the plot.

Nothing I really appreciated, but it wasn’t a huge thing in this. Just the occasional fast-forward and eyeroll.

Romance

Okay, Barry is just bad at romance. There’s his awkwardness for one thing . . . and then the additional fact that he can’t seem to like girls who will treat him better than dirt.

And then Eddie and Iris’s constant kissing.

Guys, I like the characters. I don’t mind a good romantic subplot. But this wasn’t my favorite at all. Thankfully it’s not super main-plotline though (except the eternal angst with Iris).

Creepy images

There wasn’t anything that really horrified me. And it certainly wasn’t constant. But I was watching this with all my siblings down to age 5 (sometimes the 3 year old would pop in too) and there were many things that got frightened squeaks and some running out of the room.

There are some pretty creepy metahumans and a few villainous things that aren’t really pleasant to watch.

As far as disturbing imagery goes, I’d put it slightly worse than Marvel movies, but not as creepy as Doctor Who, if that scale means anything. My dad pegged it around PG-13 level and I’d say that’s probably accurate.

Overall:

A really fun, engaging show with an awesome plot and characters, if a few issues and fast-forward spots.

21 thoughts on “The Flash, Season 1: TV Review”

Love flash! Its the best! I love Barry. He’s the biggest dork ever and he’s the best dork and Cisco is the next best and I love him and Caitlin is awesome and I don’t like iris either. Snowbarries!!!! Snowbarries!!!!!!

Hi! So Im a IRL friend of Anthia Jackson and Elizabeth Regit who I think you know from OYAN, and they have recommended the Flash to me too! So thanks so much for this great review and maybe I will check it out! (also Zero-G is my IRL sister on OYAN!) (we talk about your book and fangirl about it!)

My sister has been trying to get me to watch this. Maybe… hm. (I’ve been getting into DC stuff but mostly for the Bat family… there’s at least ten of them I think!? But mostly focusing on the Robins/ex-Robins… Tim Drake is an adorable human being.)

Well, no really. XD
Okay, but one of the things I think you’d love most about Flash is in season 2 and it’s killing me. Harry is so delightfully rude to everyone I love it.
Dangit, we haven’t been talking as much lately. I need to shoot you an email or something.